We continue to stress the importance of flossing to the overall health of your teeth and gums. Flossing allows you to reach those areas in your mouth and between your teeth that a toothbrush cannot. It breaks up plaque and bacteria buildup that if not treated can lead to tooth decay, gum disease, and other serious oral health issues.

It is necessary to stress the importance of flossing to children starting at a young age. If you can get children in the habit of flossing daily from a young age, they will thank you later on, and so will their teeth! Flossing can be tricky for some young children so follow these quick steps to make sure children are flossing properly!

Flossing Technique

1. If you’re using a standard roll of floss, span out about a foot of floss and wrap the floss tightly around pointer fingers.
2. Keeping the floss tight, push it through each gap of teeth moving back and forth covering the entire space between your teeth.
3. It is imperative to be gentle but thorough, make sure you get down into the gum line because that is where much of the disease-causing bacteria may be hiding.
4. When you have finished with a section of tooth, cleaning it properly, pull the floss up out of the gap between the teeth while also gently continuing to move it back and forth.
5. The reason for using a long strand of floss is because you may get food particles stuck to the floss, so you can use the extra clean floss to clean the next section of the tooth.

Sit down with your children and show them how to properly floss! Flossing can actually be fun because you can see the food particles coming loose and you know you’re doing a great job cleaning your teeth! Teach children how to floss properly so they can always smile bright with confidence! Contact Lindner Dental for flossing tips or to schedule an appointment!